A man pulled up to a drab office building one recent afternoon, parking next to a row of scraggly shrubs. The only hint of color came from a small sign that looked like something made with a Lite-Brite. It said in red letters: "Massage. The man was a police officer, wearing a wire. What happened after that was predictable and maddening, officials said: The next day, a man went to City Hall to apply for a business license — to open a massage parlor in the same space.

There was no clear evidence that he was connected to the operation that had been raided the night before, California.

The California had no legal reason to say no. Back then, the massage industry was a mess, governed by a patchwork of local rules. The California Massage Therapy Law was intended to professionalize the industry by creating a statewide certification program.

But many officials say it impeded local control while inadvertently creating loopholes for shady businesses. Now, Cathedral City Police Chief Kevin H. That concern has been echoed in cities large and small, in Fresno and Fontana, San Mateo and San Francisco.

The stakes are more significant than an increase in "happy endings," as they are known in the illicit trade. Eighty percent of customers are women, and the vast majority of that treatment is legitimate. Everything else, Netanel said, "absolutely must be shut down. Legal, professional therapists often felt as if they were lumped in with California workers, regulated in the same fashion.

So the state established the council, which would run a certification process for massage professionals. But the act had limited effect, in part because certification was voluntary. Typically, certifications were given to legitimate practitioners but not business owners — including the unscrupulous ones who run illicit outfits, often employing trafficked Asian emigres who are forced to perform sex acts as a way to pay off their debts, authorities say.

The licensing essentially meant nothing to the illegal operations, where female employees were cycled through frequently and simply shipped to a new location if there was any heat from law enforcement.

Making matters worse, the statewide law complicated some local rules governing where and how many massage outfits could open. Before the law, Cathedral City authorities felt they had some control. Massage professionals were licensed locally, massage sydney happy ending Los Angeles, identified and fingerprinted. Coachella Valley communities had reciprocal licensing agreements and shared information. The law ended all of that, officials said, and local communities have struggled to regain momentum.

This spring, after Cathedral City raided two sites, Henry brought a proposal to the City Council that would have prohibited parlors from operating for one year at a location where authorities discovered criminal activity.

The proposal failed because of concerns that it would punish only landlords, not tenants who break the law. It would, massage sydney happy ending Los Angeles, among other things, ensure that local governments can regulate massage businesses using zoning ordinances. It also would make it easier for local officials to hold business owners accountable for criminal activity. Often, the owners emerge unscathed from raids, while low-level female employees wind up in jail — women who have often been trafficking victims, authorities say.

At the former offices of one of the operations raided in Cathedral City, the door was locked on a recent day, and the "massage" sign was turned off. And there was a new, hand-lettered sign: "Closed for temporary renovation. Cities are trying to get the upper hand on illicit massage parlors.

The state was trying to make things better. But we know the actual needs of the community. Cities seek more control over massage parlors. Law prevents regulation of illicit massage parlors, officials say. Most Popular Local Sports Entertainment Politics Opinion Place An Ad.